I am Dauntless
by camphalfbloodprince
Summary: Original Character Aya, an Erudite, cannot take it anymore and when the choosing ceremony comes, she transfers to Dauntless. What will happen to her there? Rated T because reasons This is my first Fanfic so be nice please :)
1. I am Dauntless

The name is Aya Sakr, and I currently am an Erudite, but that's all about to change, or I hope it will. When I took my aptitude test, my examiner said she'd never seen something like this. I was fit for Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite, and if I still am not sure of where I'll be going, I am sure as hell not going to stay here.

I get up and direct myself to the bathroom to get ready, and when I am all dressed, I put my glasses on. I don't really need them, but my parents insisted I get a pair so that I would look more like them.

My parents are one of the main reasons I am planning on changing factions. They are strict parents, who work as psychologists for our general hospital, and I am just sick of the restrictions I am under, the experiments they try on me, but in the end, I think I might just miss them a bit, they'll still be my parents.

I go down to the kitchen, where I find that my mother has prepared for me a nice breakfast, and I decide to throw myself in.

-"Mom, what would you do if I don't pick Erudite today?" And that is when I saw her face crumble. I think this is why I would fit in fine into Abnegation: I care for others.

-"Well" she starts "I would be disappointed, but proud as well, because you know what is best for you, and so would your father. But know this. We will love and support you no matter what you do out there today." I smile and go up to hug her.

After that, the day is a colourful blur except for some moments of clarity, one of them when I saw him.

He was just standing there, in his Amity clothes, laughing and smiling with the people around him, but as I watched his face, I saw a hint of confusion and uncertainty as he glanced to the stage. And I woke up from my colourful daze when they called my name to the centre of the stage.

"Aya Sakr".

I take my glasses off and slide them in my back pocket as I make my way to the centre of the stage and take the knife that is handed to me. And in that moment, as I look over to the crowd, I know who I'll be choosing. I cut a straight line on the palm of my hand and, as I make my way to my future faction, I bid goodbye to my old one.

For I may be caring, but I am selfish.

And I may be smart, but I am reckless.

I am Aya, and I am Dauntless.


	2. I am Home

I still have the knife in my hand as I look in the audience, searching for my mother's comforting eyes, and when I do, I wish I hadn't. Even I she told me that she's support me in my choice, I can see in her eyes that she is heartbroken to see me leave.  
I inhale deeply and walk off stage, to stand with the rest of the Dauntless initiates to watch the rest of the ceremony.  
I don't pay much attention to the rest of it until it is his turn to choose.  
"Leo Valdez"  
He walks up the stage, and I see the uncertainty I saw a hint of earlier settle on his face, and I find myself captivated by the smooth way his hands move, the way his body functions while he makes his way to the faction of his choice. And in that moment I surprise myself by hoping he will leave Amity for Dauntless.  
Silly me. I sigh. There is absolutely no reason for him to join to Dauntless.  
Or so I thought.  
His blood drips slowly into the flames as surprise and joy take over my body. What is happening to me?!  
As he comes down the stairs, he looks around the group and starts walking in my direction. I naturally move away, thinking he is going to the person behind me. Let's say I am not that good at socializing. At all. I mean, why would anyone want to talk to a boring Erudite girl whose parents won't even let her stay out more that 4 hours?  
-"Hey" he says.  
I look around. Could he maybe be talking to someone I have my back to? But if he was talking to someone else why would he be looking at me with his warm chocolate eyes that make my heart melt every time I meet them?  
He laughs  
-"Aya right? We had class together this year. I'm Leo"  
-"Uhm yeah that's me" I can feel my cheeks getting warm with blood. Oh my god am-I blushing?  
Before I get the chance to add anything more, this Dauntless woman comes to take us to the compound.  
We follow her outside until we get to the train railway.  
-"Ok newbies I'm Trish and I'll be taking you to the Dauntless base. Now. Most of you are Dauntless born so there'll be no problem teaching you how to get on board. For the other ones" she smirks "watch, learn, and good luck"  
At that instant, a train starts to sound in the distance at an astounding speed and Trish and all the Dauntless born start running. I watch them as my brain takes it's time to understands I have to follow them.  
But my body takes a while to react as well and next thing I know, Leo is holding my hand, running after the group, pulling me along. I see the Dauntless start to jump in the train while it is still moving. What? They want me. To do that?  
In parallel to the fear of falling off of a moving train, adrenaline is rising in me. I let go of Leo's hand and start sprinting. I guess have pretty long legs which allow me to take big steps, and when I am at the train's level, I jump right onto it and land straight on my knees. I turn back around to see if Leo has made it and he jumps right in as well, but landing on his stomach.  
I laugh, help him up and we go sit against the cart's wall.  
After a while, Tori gets up  
-"Ok guys here we are. Ready everyone?"  
And she jumps, followed by all of the Dauntless and transfers.  
Leo winks at me  
-"See you down there" and jumps.  
I laugh and follow him, jumping onto the roof of the centre.  
-"Very good, very good" says Tory "but now which of you weaklings is gonna be the first to give this jump a try? Amity boy?" She turns to Leo "No? How about Erudite over there?" She points to me and I come forward.  
As I look down, I can make out, very slightly, a net to fall onto. I turn around to face the group  
-"Backing down smartass?" Asks a Dauntless guy with white and pink hair full of gel  
-"No way spiky! But maybe you should back away from the hair cement" everyone laughs. Did I just make a comeback? I wink at Leo "See you down there"  
And I let myself fall back.  
I land on the net as expected and as I bounce back up, I get on my feet, get off of the trampoline and am leaded inside by one of the Dauntless trainers waiting at the entrance  
-"An Erudite did the first jump? Nice! I have a feeling you'll fit right in here. I'm Nathan by the way" He looks a bit older than me, making it hard to believe he's a trainer.  
-"I'm Aya" I say as I dust off my pants and shirt  
He smiles at me and I barely have time to smile back before the others come falling down one after another, Tori the last one, to make sure we are all there.  
-"Okay newbies I'm leaving you in the capable hands of Nathan here to show you to your rooms and to take you to the dining area.  
We all nod and follow him. I stand right behind him, looking back for Leo from time to time, not finding him. Could he not have made the jump? I shoo that idea away from my head and look around me, and for the first time since we've entered the compound, I truly realise how beautiful it is in here. Everyone is running around long hallways going about with their usual business. I see a tattoo shop and make a note of its location, reminding myself to come back to it later. And in the distance, the noise of water heavily falling can be heard.  
Nathan tells the Dauntless born initiates to go to their usual dormitory before he takes is to ours.  
Now that our group has gotten smaller, I can assess who I'm up against to become a Dauntless.  
There is an Abnegation guy, two Candors, and an Amity girl.  
I am the only Erudite here. Wait, no. I used to be Erudite. I am now Dauntless. And i am never going back. Anyways it's not as if there is any going back...  
I still can't find Leo when a voice comes up from my other side  
-"Missed me?" I turn and find him smirking. Oh god I think I'm blushing again.  
-"I was worried you wouldn't have the guts to jump"  
-"ME? Not have GUTS? HA! You wish!"  
I giggle as Nathan shows us our dormitory, a large, white and grey room full with bunk beds.  
-"You guys put your belongings on a bed each and meet me back in the dining hall, across the Chasm, second room to your left" he smiles at me and leaves.  
I pick a bed on a lower bunk. I really am not comfortable knowing that at any moment at night i might fall and break my neck.  
Leo and I have the least things with us and so we're the first to go to the dining room.  
As we're walking across the Chasm, he says  
-"How come we've never talked before?"  
-" I am not a very talkative person to say the least"  
-"Well that's a shame, if you did you'd give more jerks like that cement hair dude reality checks"  
-"Maybe..." Oh my goodness what do I say?!  
I remember my mother, who always ha something constructive to add to a discussion that would make it last for hours... I wish I were more like her in that way...  
We get to the dining room and I see Nathan gesturing for me to join him  
-"Hey look Nathan saved us seats"  
Is this really happening? Am I really surrounded by people who might actually care about what I say and what I want?  
I pull Leo along with me and we go sit down next to Nathan and a bunch of other trainers while the other initiates arrive.  
And then diner is served. It. Was. The. Most. Delicious. Meal. I. Have. Ever. Eaten! No strict diet to follow, as much food as we want, and the cake.  
Oh. My. The cake. I'd heard wonders about Dauntless chocolate cake but this was just beyond my imagination.  
All diner long Leo was cracking jokes making everyone around burst our laughing. I think I can get used to this.  
I am a Dauntless, and my faction is my new family.


	3. I am a Natural

I wake up in my Dauntless bed and it takes me a while to take in all that's happened since the choosing ceremony yesterday. I remember the technique my mother once taught me to calm myself down when I get overwhelmed.

I am Aya. I used to be Erudite. I am not Erudite anymore. I am Dauntless. I am also Divergent, whatever that is. I have to make it to being officially Dauntless.

After that, I look at the other bunks only to find that I am the first one awake. I look at my watch. 5:30. I know I won't be able to sleep again and initiates are needed to meet in the training room at 7:00, so I get up and head to the bathroom.

I open the door and find myself not to be the only initiate awake, because in front of me stands Leo, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.

-"SHIT! Sorry! Oh my goodness I'm so sorry! I had no idea someone else was awake!" I can feel the blood burning in my cheeks and all over my body as I do my best to look anywhere but at him. Man does he look good!

-"Oh hey Aya" he smiles at me and I can just feel my heart melt away "I'm sorry did you want to use the bathroom?"

-"Uhm... It's-It's fine. I-I can wait until you're done"

He looks at me, confused, and then realizes the cause of my embarrassment and smirks.

-"Am I" He strikes a pose "distracting you with my amazingly good looks?"

-"More or less yeah" I giggle and look at my feet.

-"Alright just give me a second and I'll be out of your way"

I nod and get out of the bathroom, close the door go sit on my bunk.

I lay my back down and exhale deeply. Did I just see what I just saw? A VERY attractive guy in a towel? I laugh and cover my face. Why am I thinking this way? This is not what I should be focusing on! I should be focusing on my Dauntless training and initiation! Not on guys!

After a few minutes, Leo comes out of the bathroom; dressed and ready in the training clothes we had been given late yesterday.

-"Finally" I say, "You take longer than a girl!"

-"Well it takes time to look this good" he passes a hand through his hair. I roll my eyes and go in.

I take a quick shower and get dressed and ready, and get out of the bathroom, only to find the Candor and Amity girls talking while waiting for me to come out.

-"Aya right? I'm Dana, and this is Rachel" says the Amity one

-"Uhm, yeah that's me. Sorry if I took too long in there"

-"Oh it's nothing we just wanted to talk to you, you know, make a girlliance"

-"A what?"

-"Girlliance" repeats Dana "an alliance of girls"

-"Oh okay that sounds... Fun?"

I look at my watch. 6:30.

-"We should get going" says a voice behind me.

I turn around and find the other Candor guy is coming up to Rachel and putting his arm around her

-"This is Christopher, my brother" she says "yeah we should"

I nod and look around to see if Leo has already left or not and see him waiting by the door for me, arms crossed, back slumped against the wall, staring straight at me with his big chocolate brown eyes that find a way to make me smile even when not doing anything.

-"Why are you looking at me like that?" He smiles

-"No reason..." I find myself blushing again

We all get going, and Dana nudges me on the way and points to Leo subtly and winks. I laugh and push her playfully.

When we get to the training room, we are "welcomed" by a shorter, more menacing looking guy with spiky black hair gelled up. He picks his teeth with a knife before throwing it at me, coming so close to my head that I feel it shave a lock of my hair.

-"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" I feel my face growing red, but not with embarrassment this time.

-"Some temper you got there!" He smirks, but his smile isn't half as warming as Leo's.

-"Oh my god Aya are you okay?"

I turn around and see Nathan hurrying towards me, as i bring my hand to my ear to check if it's still there. I sigh in relief to find it whole.

-"Yeah I'm fine."

The short guys starts talking, explaining about the things we'll have to do in our initiation to officially become a Dauntless, but really, all I can think about is slapping him straight across the face.

-"The Dauntless-born initiates and you will train separately." He smirks "Anyways if you did their wouldn't be any if you left to become Dauntless."

I feel Nathan's mouth get close to my ear and whispering

-"Don't listen to him. Some Dauntless can't even get a flu shot without closing their eyes like Eric over there" he nods toward the short, rude, trainer and I laugh a bit. Bad move. Eric looks straight at me

-"Maybe smartass over there would like to show us what she's got eh?" He snaps his finger to the Abnegation guy "You! Let's see what you can do Stiff"

Everyone forms a circle around us as we get slowly onto a mattress.

I look at him and see he's as nervous as me. Eric claps his hands, giving us the signal to start.

And I jump at him. I think he was pretty startled from the look on his face, and so was everyone else. I quickly bring him down by pushing his shoulders back and tripping his feet as the same time, but he quickly gets back up and punches me in the jaw. I fall back, but not before kicking him in the chins while going down. We both get back up fast and I punch him on the nose. As he covers his face with his hands, I analyze him as fast as I can, the way i was taught to back at Erudite.

He has some weakness in his right knee, but large legs, steady but slow. I gather from the looks of him that he might weigh around 75 kg, 23 kilos more than me, making it easier for him to bring me down, but faster for me to strike.

And that's what i do. I side-kick his right knee, making him lose balance, and nearly falling, and i bring my own knee up between his legs, the way my father taught me to protect myself against attackers. And he falls down. 1... 2... 3... 4... 5 seconds later, Eric, looking astonished, claps his hands 3 times to mark the end of the fight. Did i just win?

The next thing i see is the faces of the other initiates, looking surprised and exited about my winning. Leo hugs me

-"OH MY GOODNESS AYA! YOU INHIALATED THE GUY!"

I get congratulated by the others and then Nathan.

I look over to the Abnegation guy who is starting to get up and walk over to him.

-"You O. K.?" I extend my hand out to help him up "I'm Aya"

-"Josh." He takes my hand and I pull him up "Yeah I guess I'm okay. You have some moves you know that?"

-"I guess... My father taught me how to defend myself so they're not really my own moves"

He nods and smiles.


	4. I am Marked

The next week passed faster than I could have ever thought possible. Huh. Who knew training 5 hours per day would be this draining.

"Thank goodness" I heard Rachel say as our group was dismissed for the weekend "I don't think I have ever worked out that much in my life!"

"Really?" Asked Leo as he shifted positions in the little line that had formed as we all walked next to each other so that he ended up being on my right as we walked to the canteen for lunch. "It wasn't any harder than a long day in the fields under the sun harvesting wheat though..."

"Speak for yourself!" Said Dana "I'd take plowing any day over body combat!"

"Why did you transfer then?" I asked, my erudite curiosity taking over.

With an exaggerated mocked surprised look on his face, Leo exclaimed "SHE FINALLY SPEAKS!"

I felt a blush come over me as I slightly nudged my elbow into his side "Hahaha let's make fun of the shy girl who doesn't speak that much!" I replied, trying to make my tone as ironic as I possibly could. I hadn't spoken that much since Josh had asked me about my fighting techniques except for the basics of conversation: a hello there, how are you here, I mean, what am I supposed to do really? I'm shy! So what?

"Relax," he said as he put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed playfully "I'm kidding! Don't they teach joke 101 in erudite?"

Everyone laughs, including me, even if that was one TERRIBLE joke! It feels good to let go of my so-called roots where I always felt like a fish out of the water.

But here in Dauntless, even if it's only been a week, I feel like I fit in perfectly, like that one puzzle piece that gets jammed into the wrong place again and again and again before finally settling in the place it was meant to be. And who knows? Maybe I'll even learn how to open up more.

As we sit down around a table with our food, Christopher asks

"So I wanted to go check out the parlor, anyone up for coming along?"

"The parlor?" Asked Rachel.

"Yeah, the tattoo parlor" he answered "I spotted it when they lead us to our dorms and I've been thinking... I kinda want a tattoo..."

The table burst into protests, mainly coming from Rachel, and admiration from the rest of us. I had myself wanted to get a tattoo, to mark my leaving erudite behind and fully immerse myself in the dauntless culture, but hadn't dared say a word about it. I didn't really want to seem like the girl begging for attention by doing something no one else would be doing and bragging about it, but now that I know that Chris wants a tattoo as well, I grab my courage before it runs away and say

"Actually, maybe we could go to the tattoo parlor together? I also have been wanting to get a tattoo since I saw it"

And with these words, everyone fell silent and looked at me. Shit. Oh shit. I made a fool of myself again! I should not have spoken up! I should have kept my mouth shut!

I start to feel my face redden while they all look at each other and back at me, keeping the silence going until it's broken by Leo, who looks straight into my eyes, his luscious lips splitting into a sly grin, says

"You're just full of surprises aren't you?"

With that, we all chuckle and the tension diffuses immediately

"And why would I be so full of surprises?" I ask

"Well" says Dana "it's just that you barely say anything and then judo-flip poor Josh over here with no warning what-so-ever!"

"Hey!" Snaps Josh at the other end of the table

"Yeah," adds Rachel "and you just seem so reserved and, no offence, like you HATE new experiences!"

"Haven't any of you heard the saying 'Don't judge a book by its cover'?" I answer while shrugging lightly

"It's not just a cover that you have on!" Says Dana "It's a barricade! And we have no idea what's waiting on the other side!"

"You" starts Leo while draping an arm over my shoulder and extending his other hand in front of us gesturing to empty air as if he was admiring it "are like the great wall of China... Except, well, we don't know what country is behind it"

I roll my eyes around and try not to blush at his hand on my bare shoulder

"But fear not!" He continues dramatically "For I shall break you out of your shell and let you shine your light upon the rest of us!"

"Well aren't you peopling the drama kind? All I said was that I wanted to get a tattoo! It's not a big deal..."

"Well I think we should all go to support Chris and Aya in the MUTILATION of their skin!" said Rachel.

"Oh calm down Rach'" said Chris, sighing heavily "it's only a tattoo! Aya's gonna do it!"

"Yeah I kinda want one as well to be honest," says Leo with a small voice while rubbing the back of his neck with the one hand that he hadn't left on my shoulder.

WHY IS HIS HAND STILL ON MY SHOULDER?!

After some more arguing, we all came to an agreement.

We'll all go to the parlor after we're all done with lunch in order to support those of us who are getting tattoos.

God... What should I get?

That question hangs over my head for the rest of lunch, my brain blocking out everything happening around me. Well, not everything. Not the pressure of Leo's leg against mine underneath the table. Not the way he seems to phase out from time to time, staring at thin air past everyone. Not the way he leans towards the table whenever he gets excited about something. Not the sweet aroma coming from him. No. Not one detail about him was being left out by my senses. I was feeling everything that could be felt about him from this position, and, is it wrong for me to say I want to feel more?

Over the past week, Leo and I have grown closer, training together when needed, walking to and back from training together. Plus, our beds were both the corner bottom bunks, making it that our heads slept near each other.

The sound of his voice mesmerizing me at every inflexion, the flow of his movement making me wish I could study anatomy all over again, just to understand how he could look both like a flame and a wave of water while walking.

And those eyes-

"Aya?"

I look up from my plate into his dark molten chocolate orbs that take my breath at every glance.

"Yeah?" I reply.

"Lunch is over" he starts grinning while he gets up from his seat and joins the rest of the group who is already up and ready to go "You know what that means don't you?"

"That next time we'll get food will be dinner?"

He rolls his eyes while chuckling

"Come on let's get tattoos!" he says as he holds out a hand to help me up.

I take it, get up, and we all start heading out.

The tattoo parlour is this pretty big shop with a pretty small exterior. You'd never known it was this big if you hadn't walked in. It's walls are plastered with possible tattoo ideas, to inspire the clients I assume, but it's not too much, which is surprizing considering that there isn't more that one third of the original light grey wallpaper that shows. The drawings are all spaciously distributed, all of them different sizes, so that it looks more like an art exhibition than a tattoo shop. Which I guess in a way it is. Tattoos are really art on skin when thought about.

We all disperse through the shop, admiring the walls, contemplating, and deciding which of them would look good on our skins.

I still haven't chosen what I want. All I know is that I want it to remind me of my home while cutting me from it. Tattoos are frowned upon gravely in Erudite, and me getting one marks my real departure I guess, but I don't want to end up forgetting where I'm from, who I am. As much as it surprises me to think, I miss my life there. But I wouldn't give up being Dauntless for the world. So what I want really is for my tattoo to be a link between my old and new life.

I find myself looking at beautiful drawings of weaponry. Guns, rifles, knives, but what catches my eye the most, is a beautiful arrow. The tip of it a smooth looking bronze metal, glistening in light, red cherry wood and at the end of it, the most beautiful feathers.

I point it out to the artist, a young woman with hot pink hair and black strands, who smiles and nods when I ask for the tattoo.

"I have an arrow as well actually!" she says as she pulls up her baggy pants over her left foot to point out a thin arrow drawn around her ankle, way more simplistic that the one I have chosen but beautiful non the less.

I sit down in the chair and pull up my right sleeve and turn the inside of my arm up, and while she starts prepping the skin on there, I am joined by the rest of our crew.

"Where's Chris" I ask, not seeing him.

"Oh he's still choosing," replies Rachel, clearly over her argument with her brother earlier.

When Chris finally chooses a skull with a rose between its teeth, he settles in the seat to my right while Leo sits down at my left.

And the artists get to work.

Half way through my arrow, Leo is done. I hadn't had the chance to ask him what he had chosen, so I do when he grabs a chair and pulls it into the small circle that had constructed itself from around Chris and I.

"Check this out!" Leo says to me as he shows me an awesome looking metal dragon on the inside of his elbow.

"Whoa! That is really cool," I say as I bring my fingers up to the dragon and graze my fingertips on it.

"You're one to speak," says Dana "Your arrow is looking SO badass!"

This comment is followed by a lot of agreeing, making me blush. Man, I think to myself, I really need to get this blushing thing under control…

Finally, Chris and I both finish our tattoos at around the same time. While mine is way less complicated than his with the dents in the skull, and the work on the rose and what not, mine has an extreme amount of work put into it, making the details look astounding.

The arrow represents agility, concentration, and skill, characteristics of Erudite. But it also represents freedom, fearlessness and strength, to represent Dauntless.

And with this arrow, I am marked.


	5. To my lovely readers

Hiya guys ! So thank you all so much for the great reviews on the fanfic and to be honest, I'mma need your help.

I have some serious writer's block and I thought you could help out.

I have created a poll that is up on the top of my profile page (link: u/4469745/camphalfbloodprince) providing you all with some options of what I could write about in that upcoming chapter.

You will have the opportunity to vote for up to two of the ideas present but worry not! For, if none of the ideas interest you, you can always submit what YOU would like to happen next in the reviews!

See you soon!

-Camphalfbloodprince


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